Year Founded:
2003
Project Stage:
Scaling
Project Summary Elevator Pitch
Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.
Aura replaces 8000 chemicals & protects 2000 liters of H2O used per conventional garment ,using patented herbal dyeing method.We use medicinally rich regenerative natural ingredients as turmeric , fruit peels,sea salt to colour & process textiles ,disrupting conventional chemical intensive industry
WHAT IF - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"
What if there were no synthetic dyes, colourants used and your each garment were healthy for user ,maker and environment
About Project
Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?
Current Textile industry is one of the most water intensive and polluting industry using only portable water. Over 300 crore liters of water is polluted everyday in Ahmedabad alone. Chemical intensive textiles harm the user , maker and the environment. Most chemicals used are carcinogenic , they leach into the body of the user and the maker. These are known to cause ailments from allergies , asthma ,learning disabilities as early as newborns.
Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!
Aura has developed an industrial process using medicinally rich and regenerative ingredients like turmeric , fruit peels , forest waste to colour and process the textiles. Our process has created biodiversity in a chemical intensive industrial area with our used water being purer than the source water & our solid waste leftover used as manures. For centuries India manufactured its textiles without any synthetic ingredients , keeping with the balance of resource use , environment and life well being . We at Aura follow the same ideology and have devised methods adapting to the modern industrial usage and application. Aura offers textiles , dyes , training and licences technology to the industry across the world.
Awards
CIIE. IIMA innovation award ,India , USA patents , Ethical Fashion Forum source award, Parivartan awards, Sankalp Forum clean technology award , Dasra Fellow
Impact: How does it Work
Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
A true example is of 16 year old Savita's had to leave her studies and start supporting a family of 4 . Her father is left bedridden after working as a machine cleaner in a conventional textile factory. Being exposed to synthetic dyes and even stronger cleaners he is incapable of any activity. Illnesses like asthma , fatigue , allergies & eczema are common. None of Aura's workers have taken a sick leave in its manufacturing history. Harsha's doctor recommended she use undyed , cotton inner-wear due to the severe allergies she was facing for weeks . No medication was helping her. As soon as she switched to Aura's herbal garments she was cured within days , now her entire family only uses Aura products.
Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.
Aura's medium scale manufacturing practices sold over 100 million herbal dyed organic cotton products , protected over 200 billion litres of water , over 100 hectares of land & over 10000 farmers & workers involved in the entire textile supply chain. Natural-herbal dyeing was so far meant for hand process and cottage industry only. Aura changed that & for the first time brought it in as mainstream affordable products. Aura coined the word herbal textiles & is now a commonly used term for chemical free textiles. Aura is directly addressing the issues if synthetic dyes and its harm on the user, maker and environment simultaneously Aura has shared its knowledge and implemented its process in other textile factories currently in practice. We can together disrupt the conventional colour industry & change 10% of the textile industries manufacturing methods by 2025
Spread Strategies: Moving forward, what are the main strategies for scaling impact?
With the technology and herbal dye practices used across countries many of the environmental, health & economical issues can be resolved. Aura's know-how is in practice in 5 independent manufacturing units in 1 year of knowledge sharing initiative. Have strategic partnerships in other countries for a cradle 2 cradle textile industry. Strategic licensing with brands & industry leaders. Knowledge sharing Partnership with institutions and organisations influencing future decision maker, involve policy makers for stricter manufacturing norms and creating awareness in the consumer
Sustainability
Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?
Aura offers textile products to consumers and manufacturing to B2B partners. Aura will make strategic alliances with like minded brands and manufacturers and license its knowledge further in specific industries.
Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?
Over Decade ago when Organic or chemical free were not yet a market need , Aura was the only company to have 100% herbal dyeing manufacturing and offer the widest range and categories of herbal dyed organic products . Has sensitised the customer and created a market for such products. Aura has pioneered standardised its processes to be applied in scale across various textile mediums like terry , knits woven , printing , scalable dyeing , large scale printing . Aura is the only company sharing its process and training for other companies and brands to convert their existing infrastructuring
Team
Founding Story
We were recycling the textile industry's waste discharge for decades that is usually dumped underground. We realised that recycling is not the solution. The entire solid waste is dumped on landfills & tonnes of water eventually is not only wasted but also destroyed everyday. A conversation brought us the knowledge that India had best practices of textile industry, a global leader in herbal dyed textile for centuries. This knowledge changed our universe , our thought process and actions. Very same day we started working 100% on extensive research , application and usage of the same practices in modern context. We knew right then that if it could be done back then , why not now.
Team
With passion to do something and not just be silent spectators to the environmental catastrophe the textile and colour industry was causing , Arun & Sonal lay the foundation of the company. With no textile , fashion or design knowledge but fully equipped with passion and commitment the company was started with just the 2 of them. 12 years ago we did not know if there will be takers , we just knew that we needed to find a way to make these textile . Today the company has over 80 people working towards the same goal. With research team ,manufacturing , sales and now knowledge sharing teams. We have like minded people joining from across age groups , experiences , cultures backgrounds and boundaries joining hands sharing the same dream and passion. The process is mainstream ready and so is the team. We have experienced people from related fields
Value Chain: Where does your work fit into the apparel value chain? [check all that apply]
Raw Materials, Manufacturing, Consumption.
Your Role: What is your relationship to the apparel industry? [check all that apply]
Advocate/Organizer, Brand Representative, Designer, Factory Owner, Researcher, Retail Representative - Specialty Store, Sourcing Manager / Supply Chain Manager, Supplier - contractor, Technologist.
Target Population: What stakeholder groups do you engage or empower in your work? [check all that apply]
Brands, Children, Consumers, Corporations, Designers, Factory Workers, Factory Owners, Policymakers, Researchers, Retailers - Department Store, Retailers - Specialty Store, Retailers - Mass-merchandise Chain, Retailers - Discount Chain, Sourcing Manager / Supply Chain Manager, Supplier - contractor, Technologists, Trading Companies, Women, Youth.
● Intervention Focus: What are you trying to achieve / influence? [check all that apply]
Accountability, Conscious Consumerism, Environmentally Sustainable Practices, Labor Rights (i.e. Collective Bargaining, etc.), Physical Working Conditions, Transparency, Other, [please specify].
Is your project targeted at solving any of the following key barriers?
Hidden from View: Conditions in Forests, Farms, and Factories are Only Visible to a Select Few, A Job is Not Enough: Low-Income Workers Cannot Secure Long-Term Well-Being, Consumers Aren't Motivated to Care: Neither Compelling Reasons Nor Easy Means to Change Consumption Habits, Sustainability is Not Yet in the DNA: Fast Fashion’s Current Model Disincentivizes Value-Driven Economies.
Does your project utilize any of the innovative design principles below?
Unite More than Voice: Tap into Community Capital and Collective Resources, Disrupt Business as Usual: Target Key Players Who Can Influence the Bottom Line.
Innovation Inspiration: When you first conceived of your project, did you think of it as applicable to the apparel industry?
● Replicating in the Apparel Industry: If your project didn't initially target the apparel industry, how are you specifically tailoring it to do so now?
Are you nurturing or inspiring others to be changemakers? If so, how?
1.Offering know-how to craft,small-medium scale manufacturing communities.2.Many Brands are following Aura's footsteps
● Tell us about the partnerships that enhance your approach. How have you collaborated with others in the industry to increase your impact?
With organisations & education institutions: knowledge sharing. Market leaders: consumer engagement.Policy makers:implemention
Comments
Hello, Water is the future commodity that the world will go on war. So the purpose of your company is noble and a necessity. I would like to know how can this scale on a global level and inspire dyeing factories around the world to dye naturally?
Hi Sonia,
You have very correctly mentioned the need to address the water issue in the textile industry. the entire textile industry is completely dependent on the potable water. Unfortunately not only does it use a lot of fresh water , it also destroys the other sources of the same. This knowledge was our prime inspiration to start the initiative. We took it upon ourselves to educate the customer & the makers. After our own successful runs , We have inclusive programmes wherein we sensitize the textile making companies & share our 15 year knowledge of how they can incorporate this practice in their systems. Already in practice in 4 units